LONDON, Jan. 6, 2016 — (PRNewswire) — 3D cell culture is accepted as a new dimension of cell culture sector in biomedical research field. Cells grown on two-dimensional (2D) substrates do not represent true in-vivo cell environment and lack extracellular components, cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions necessary for differentiation, proliferation and cell-based functions. Hence, now-a-days three-dimensional (3D) cell culture methods are much preferred over 2D models as they provide a matrix support that encourages cells to organize into structures more indicative of the in--vivo environment and help to overcome 2D related shortcomings.

Increased use of 3D cell culture systems bring the hope of lowering lead molecule attrition rates but however, these models restricts huge data reproducibility, challenge assay readout systems and do not contain all cells relevant for tumour environment. In addition, the favourable artificial environment created by 3D model enables longer-term dosing experiments for analyzing drug's cumulative effects.

According to IQ4I analysis, the 3D cell culture global market is poised to grow at a double digit CAGR to reach $3,702.2 million by 2021. The 3D cell culture market is classified based on types, applications, end-users and geography. The 3D cell culture by technology is segmented into scaffold based platform, scaffold free platform, bioreactors, microchips and hydrogels. Scaffold based platform is sub-segmented into natural scaffold, synthetic scaffold and hybrid composite. Natural scaffold is in-turn classified into protein based biomaterials (collagen, fibrin, silk, gelatin, elastin, keratin, actin and myosin, laminin and vitronectin) and polysaccharide based biomaterials (Agarose, alginate, hyaluronan, chitosan, amylase, dextran, cellulose and glycosaminoglycans).